Toy building element.



A. C. GILBERT.

TOY BUiILDlNG ELEMENTS.

PLICATION FILED OCT. 8 19 Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

mismwu 1f a T M E l/VVEOR. 44: 6% 7' WITNESS ALFRED C. GILBERT, OF NEW HAVEN, CCNNECTIC'UT, ASSIGNOR TO THE A. C. GILBERT COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

TOY BUILDING ELEMENT Application as October 5, 1915. Serial 150. 54,853.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED C. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of New Haven andState of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Building Elements of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates 'to building construction, and more particularly to a toy building construction which simulates in appearance the modern structural steel used 1n building sky scrapers, bridges and similar structures.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a channeled strip or plate for the purpose indicated, which while structurally different from the Well-known commercial structural members isadapted 'to be combined with a plurality of like elements in such a manner that a very close simulation of a modern steel frame-work can be readily built. More particularly, my object is to provide a plate or strip which may be very readily connected with a similar strip byan overlappingconnection which is adjustable, so that when a bar or strip of predetermined length is required for building any particular structure the requisite length may be readilyobtained by building up the strip from a number of overlapping sections. Again, it'is my object to'provide a connection or joint between the meeting ends of adjacent strips which is very simple 1n form, and yet holds the strips rigidly in alinement under considerable stresses.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a toy building element embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is an outside elevation of the oint or connection between adjacent strips;

Fig. 3 is an inside view of the parts shown in Fig. 2';

Fig. 4 is an end vlew of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 2.

I shall first describe the detail construction of the particular strip or element selected for illustration in Fig. 1. The strip or plate 6 is formed of thin sheet metal, and

has flanges 7 bent up integrally therefrom' Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented Apr. 2, Mild.

tion 9. The solid end portions 8 are pre vided with perforations 10 in the center line of the strip, and the lattice portion 9 is provided with a plurality of similar perforations 11 arranged'in line with the perforationslO. These perforations 11 are equidistantly s aced from each other, and in the particu ar form shown, the distance between each perforation 11 and the adjacent perforation 11 is the same as that from one of the perforations 10 to the ad'acent perwhole series are equidistantly spaced from each other. Moreover, in the particular form shown, the perforations 11 are formed in integral truss members which extend between and connect the angular side portions 12 of thelattice portion of the strip. Furthermore, in the particular form shown, a plurality of diagonal-truss members 13 extending parallel to each other at suitable distances intersect similar diagonal truss members 1 and the perforations 11 pass through the strip at the intersection of the truss members 13 with the truss members 14:.

In,Fig.' 2 I show an upper strip 6 connected endwise to a lower strip 6 by an overlapping connection. It will be obvious that by providing each strip with a plurality of equi-distantly spaced perforations two strips or sections'may be connected in different ways by means of bolts 15 passing through the registering perforations, so as to produce composite strips of various lengths. In the particular example shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the strips or sections 6, 6 overlap each other to a considerable extent, so that the total length of the composite strip is only. slightly greater than the length of one of the sections. One of the bolts 15 passes through the end perforation 10 of the lower strip 6", and through one of the intermediate perforations 11 of the upper fora-tion 11.. Thus, the perforations of the Jill strip d, while another bolt passes through one of the intermediate perforations 11, of the lower strip and through the lowermost intermediate perforation 11 of the upper strip. Of course, this arrangement is merely given as an example, because the arrange,- ment of the parts may be greatly varied, and in many instances, it is only necessary to use one connecting belt or its equivalent. la

the particular form shown, each bolt 15. is

provided with a nut 15, and the head of each bolt is furnished with a screw driver Elli nick or slot so as to facilitate assembling and disassembling. v

it M be observed from Fig. 5, that in forming an overlapping joint etween two strips or sections the ad acent portions of the strip nest together rather closely when the fastening bolt or bolts have been placed in position. This is due to the flexibility of the sheet metal stri s, and particularly the aide flanges thereo which enables the adjecent strips to substantially conform to each other under the clamping pressure of the belt or other fastening member.

The construction hereinbefore described has the firticular advantage that when a toy buil struction o a miniature scraper or bridge, and a strip or bar of eflnite length is required, such bar can be made up to aproximately the required length by overapping two or more sections 1n the adjustable manner described. Furthermore, the series of intermediate perforations with which the strip is provided can be used forv various other purposes whichsug est themdill owevenl do not claim this feature broadly selves to the builder, and as these intermediate perforations can be readily furnished, without interferin with the lattice or truss work (which com ine lightness with considerable strength), the strip as a whole possesses close similitude to modern structu steel work, while at the same time its utility as a toy is re considerable.

It will be observe that the side flanges of each strip are divergent, which is. a feature of importance in some aspects of the invention because it permits two strips to 'be readily nested or fitted together, as shown in Fig. 5, in spite of the fact that said strips are of the same cross-section.

in the present application, as the same is claimed in my application Serial No. 814,533, nor do I broadly claim herein the feature of nesting together two identica strips as claimed in said application. I

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the stri herein described is of such construction that four strips ma be assembled and interconnected to form a ollow girder or column of rectangular crosssection, as described in my Reissue Patent.

No. M250, at January tdtdt'l.

set is being used for the contetra .thout limiting myself to the precise construction shown, I claim:

'- 1. A structural element for building up toy box girders and other structures, comprising, a miniature structural member havmg an elongated body part of flexiblesheet metal with turned in flanges at opposite side edges, said body art having a plurality of out out sections orming. a plurality of.

forations and located at the intersections of said diagonal truss members; substantially as described.

' 2. A structural element for building up toy box girders and other structures, comprising a miniature structural member havmg an elongated body part of flexible sheet metal with turned in flanges at opposite side edges, said body part having apluralitv of cut out sections forming a plurality of in-.

tersecting diagonal truss members, theintersections of said diagonal truss members being located in the medlan line of the strip,

said out out portion terminating some dis 1 tance from the respectiveends of the'body part to form extended bearing portions, said extended bearing portions .each having a substantially centrally disposed perforation for the reception of .means for uniting the member with another member or members, and said body part being provided with a longitudinal series of perforationsbetween and in line with said end perlot forationsand located at the intersections of said diagonal truss members, the' spacing between any two of said intermedlate perforations being the same as that between an -end perforation and the adjacent intermediate perforatioh; substantially as described.

3. In toy building construction, the com- 'bination' of two elongated strips of light,

flexible sheet metal" both having integral side flanges and presenting a channeled cross-section, each of said strips being stamped out throughout a considerable portion of its length to present an open latticework portion having diagonals intersecting eachother substantially in the median line of the strip, each strip also havingbearing portions at the ends, each strip likewise aving a longitudinal row of spaced perforatio, of which some a e at the lad Leonora intersections of said diagonals while others are located in the aforesaid end bearing portions, said strips bein placed end to end, and means for fastemng the strips together, comprising fasteningmembers ass 1ng through regi teringdperforations 0 th strips; substantlally as escribed.

4. A toy building element, comprising a miniature structural channel member constituted by a light flexible sheet metal strip having integral flanges bent u therefrom at both side edges thereof, sai strip being provided near the respective ends with substantially central bolt-receiving perforations and being cut away throng out a considerable portion of its length to present a plurality of diagonals intersecting each other in the median line of the strip, and the strip being further provided with a plua ALFRED e. GILBERT. 

